International: All stories
Canada pledges $1 billion to protect nature
2 Mar 2018
The Canadian Government plans to invest $1.3 billion to preserve the country’s land, oceans and wildlife.
SKIP THE DIP: It could be a good idea to stay on the beach
2 Mar 2018
People who swim in the sea are at significantly higher risk of stomach bugs, ear problems and other illnesses than those who stick to the sand.
Three NZ cities get high world ranking for renewable energy
1 Mar 2018
Three New Zealand urban areas are among 101 global cities getting more than 70 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources.
King penguins find their icy southern realm is shrinking
1 Mar 2018
King penguins – one of the most charismatic species of the Southern Ocean – are under threat from climate change.
Acid in oceans will soon get to work on reefs
1 Mar 2018
Many of the world’s coral reefs could begin to erode within 30 years as a result of increasing ocean acidity, according to new research.
Lloyd’s under pressure to get out of coal
1 Mar 2018
Lloyd’s of London, is under increasing pressure to back away from supporting the coal industry.
Southern Ocean has history of storing carbon
1 Mar 2018
The Southern Ocean – the 20 million-square kilometre stretch of sea that encircles the earth south of the 60th parallel – released vast amounts of carbon dioxide the last time the Earth warmed, scientists say.
Tokyo admits rainforest timber used for stadium
1 Mar 2018
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee has confirmed that 87 per cent of the plywood panels used to build its new national stadium come from southeast Asian rainforests.
Brussels eyes free transport on bad air days
1 Mar 2018
Brussels has moved to make the city’s public transport and bike share system free on the smoggiest days in a bid to drive down pollution levels.
Terrifying phenomenon is pushing species to extinction
28 Feb 2018
Scientists are alarmed by a rise in mass mortality events – when species die in their thousands. Is it all down to climate change?
German court rules cities can ban vehicles to tackle pollution
28 Feb 2018
Germany’s highest administrative court has ruled that diesel and other vehicles can be banned from some city streets as part of efforts to improve air quality,
China must sign up to climate rules, says EU
28 Feb 2018
EU foreign ministers have set a collision course with China in a statement calling for the same rules to bind all countries under the Paris climate deal.
Mangroves making way for fish farms
28 Feb 2018
Deforestation – often to make way for fish farming – has seen the global area of mangroves decline by 2 per cent between 2000 and 2012.
OIL MYTHS: Seven tales the fossil fuel industry loves to tell
27 Feb 2018
In the past month, major fossil fuel players have made big announcements regarding climate change. But the idea of a “green” oil company producing “clean” fossil fuels is a dangerous myth.
China could become a leader in green finance
27 Feb 2018
Experts gathered in London have argued over whether China could dominate the green financing market in years to come.
Ireland to pump €22b into low-carbon economy
27 Feb 2018
The Irish Government has announced plans to spend €22 billion over the next four years to aid the country’s journey to a low-carbon economy.
How media framing limits public debate on oil exploration
27 Feb 2018
Some of the most important societal changes have been made because of direct action, but this isn’t always the story the mainstream media reports.
DiCaprio in deal to save chunk of Indian Ocean
26 Feb 2018
A foundation set up by actor Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the investors that worked on a deal that has led to the Seychelles creating protected areas "the size of Great Britain" in the Indian Ocean.
DO THE GRAPH: What's the weather future for your kids?
26 Feb 2018
Want to compare the average global temperatures you and your mother knew with those your children will experience? Make your own graph.
Take your brolly to Broome ... it's had 1.5m of rain this year
26 Feb 2018
It has been a soggy start to the year in the Western Australian town of Broome. In the two months of 2018, 1.5 metres of rain has fallen,
Climate will push European cities to breaking point
23 Feb 2018
A new study highlights the urgent need to adapt urban areas across Europe to cope with floods, droughts and heatwaves.
Ban Ki-Moon to lead global green growth push
23 Feb 2018
Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will take over as head of a global organisation promoting sustainable economic growth.
Perfumes and soaps rival vehicles as smog source
23 Feb 2018
Everyday items such as soaps, perfume, paint and pesticides contribute as heavily to certain sorts of air pollution as cars and trucks.
Recyclability is the name of the plastics game
23 Feb 2018
The plastics industry is changing fast, and the way our food and products are packaged could look totally different in just a few years.
The world's loneliest tree tells secrets of the Anthropocene
22 Feb 2018
The Anthropocene began in 1965, according to signs left on Campbell Island by the world’s loneliest tree.
Common insects face growing threats
22 Feb 2018
The Earth’s largest animal group faces a new threat. Insects – not just rare species, but common insects, too – might become less genetically diverse.
Climate could change cricket
22 Feb 2018
Climate change is thundering down the pitch and could seriously affect the way cricket is played in the years ahead.
We're stuck with 1.2m sea level rise, say scientists
21 Feb 2018
The world is now locked into sea-level rise of up to 1.2 metres – and the number goes up 0.2m for every five years that emissions cuts are delayed, scientists say.
German carmakers nervous on eve of court's diesel ban ruling
21 Feb 2018
A court will decide tomorrow whether German cities can ban heavily polluting cars, potentially wiping hundreds of millions of euros off the value of diesel cars on the country’s roads.
Australia has a role for coal, says Shorten
21 Feb 2018
Labor Party leader Bill Shorten has declared there is a role for coal in Australia, and characterised the controversial Adani coalmine as just “another project”.
OECD urges nations to tax dirty energy
21 Feb 2018
The OECD has encouraged governments to start taxing CO2 emissions more aggressively while warning that current taxation levels are not enough to fight climate change effectively.
Singapore will charge carbon tax from next year
21 Feb 2018
Singapore will charge carbon polluters a new carbon tax from 2019.
Scotland aims to be renewables powerhouse
20 Feb 2018
Scotland is making progress towards becoming a world leader in renewable energy.
Canberra gives carbon emitters the go-ahead
20 Feb 2018
Nearly 60 Australian industrial sites have been given the green light to increase crbon emissions, cancelling out cuts paid for by the Coalition governmet using public money.
Meet the woman who defined the greenhouse effect
20 Feb 2018
Eunice Foote’s career highlights the subtle forms of discrimination that have kept women on the sidelines of science.
Ammonia emissions rise in Britain
20 Feb 2018
Emissions of ammonia have been on the rise in the UK even while the amount of other pollutants entering the atmosphere has fallen.
New apartment block will look like a forest
20 Feb 2018
Apartments to be built in the Dutch city of Eindhoven will be a 75m high skyscraper, which will include space for 125 trees, and 5200 plants.
Want to know about city pollution? Ask a pigeon
20 Feb 2018
Pigeons might be seen as the scourge of cities, but researchers say they could help us to explore a host of toxins in the air, from lead to pesticides.
Military brains warn of climate security threats ... soon
19 Feb 2018
US intelligence chiefs again have warned Congress about the global security risks from climate change ... and they weren't talking about far-off threats. US INTELLIGENCE chiefs again have warned Congress about the global security risks from climate change ... and they weren't just talking about far-off threats.
Sea level rise speeding up to 100mm per decade
19 Feb 2018
The rate of sea level rise is accelerating so fast that some coastal communities could confront an additional 100mm per decade by the end of the century
Cow dung overload brings call for cut in dairy herd numbers
19 Feb 2018
Dairy farms in the Netherlands are producing so much dung they can’t get rid of it safely. Now the WWF is calling for a 40 per cent cut in herd numbers.
Should we give up half of the Earth to wildlife?
19 Feb 2018
Populations of all kinds of wildlife are declining at alarming speed. One radical solution is to make 50 per cent of the planet a nature reserve.
Nordic nations usher in new era of green finance
19 Feb 2018
New research has highlighted how the Nordic countries are leading by example in the green finance market.
Germany takes close look at free public transport
16 Feb 2018
Germany is thinking of making public transport free as it scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines.
One tiny creature threatens Antarctic wildlife
16 Feb 2018
The Antarctic, one of the last great wildernesses and home to animals such as whales, penguins and leopard seals, is being threatened by the plight of an animal just a few centimetres long.
Battery boom keeping Australia’s grid fully charged
16 Feb 2018
Australia’s love affair with clean energy and battery storage is only just beginning, with the nation on the verge of an energy storage boom.
Plastics pollute most remote areas of the ocean
16 Feb 2018
Microplastics have been found in some of the most remote and uncharted regions of the oceans raising more concerns over the global scale of plastic pollution.
How Iceland became the bitcoin miners’ paradise
15 Feb 2018
Iceland is the first nation to use more electricity on mining cryptocurriencies than on its households – thanks in part to its magma-fuelled power plants.
Amazon wildfires send emissions soaring
15 Feb 2018
Climate change-induced wildfires are now the biggest source of carbon emissions in Amazon forests.
Germany’s energy and climate policy is taking shape
15 Feb 2018
The coalition agreement between the German Conservatives and the Social Democrats outlines a relatively ambitious energy policy.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
Trump administration sues California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission rules
Tue 17 Mar 2026
The Trump administration ramped up a battle with California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission standards Thursday, suing air regulators over rules aimed at curbing pollution from cars.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
'The situation is dire': War on Iran squeezes India's cooking-gas supplies
Mon 16 Mar 2026
The shockwaves of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Companies – including Blackrock – retired 2 million carbon credits after Verra suspended project
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil in September 2023, pending an investigation into the project’s validity. That didn’t stop Mastercard, BlackRock, Philip Morris International from retiring carbon credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
